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Re: Luftwaffe aerial recon prior to D-Day
Ed,
Have you seen 'Hitler’s Spies' by David Kahn? There is a very useful section on Luftwaffe recce groups history/structure. Nothing specific about individual flights, but the message is clear that the high-level operations were nearly impossible by that time. Then in other sections of the book, concerning the intelligence reaching Germany from her agents in the UK (all turned and controlled by the British), he make sit plain that the agents were the only method remaining for the Germans to know what was going on in the UK: this reinforces the viewpoint that the Luftwaffe was not supplying any information. The book is impeccably researched, with many interviews from participating German intelligence personnel, and I haven’t found a slip-up yet.
The files I have seen at The National Archives and those quoted in ‘British Intelligence in the Second World War vol3 pt1 & 2’ show that the Allies knew of many overflights which were potentially PRU (mainly Fw190), but the distracting possibility also existed that there were high-altitude flights of which they were unaware. Prof. RV Jones said some years after the war that he almost laughed when he found out that the elaborate deception operations carried out in the south of England were wasted because there was so little German PRU in 1944: he said there was 'effectively none' carried out, so he stops short of saying 'totally none'. (He was not prone to overstating his case, and he met many of his German counterparts after the war to tidy up loose ends, so I believe he was quoting 'direct from the horse’s mouth).
Still nothing specific I am afraid, but a body of evidence that there was little or no German recce over England that threatened to expose the true disposition of troops and armour.
Bruce
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